Prague murder defendant scheduled for June hearing

A Prague man charged with first-degree murder in a 2010 Pottawatomie County homicide was scheduled for court Wednesday, but his case was postponed until June as he remains jailed in Wisconsin awaiting adjudication in a sexual assault case.

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By Kim Morava

The Shawnee News-Star

By Kim Morava

Posted Apr. 4, 2013 at 8:15 AM

By Kim Morava
Posted Apr. 4, 2013 at 8:15 AM

A Prague man charged with first-degree murder in a 2010 Pottawatomie County homicide was scheduled for court Wednesday, but his case was postponed until June as he remains jailed in Wisconsin awaiting adjudication in a sexual assault case.

Defendant Glendon Carl Gouker, 41, is set for further review in Pottawatomie County District Court on June 12, court information shows.

Assistant District Attorney Russ Cochran said Wednesday that prosecutors hope the 60-day continuance in the local case will allow time for the Wisconsin case to conclude so Gouker can return to Pottawatomie County.

Gouker had been jailed in Pottawatomie County since his arrest in 2010 for in the murder of Ethan James Dorand Walton, 19, but was extradited to Wisconsin in February after being identified as a suspect in a 1990 cold case in that state.

Reports indicate Gouker previously resided in Wisconsin and moved to Oklahoma in 1993.

Gouker is accused of sexually assaulting a then-20-year-old woman in November 1990 in Iola, Wis. DNA evidence from the assault was resubmitted to the State Crime Lab and Gouker was found to be a contributor to the DNA. The break in the Wisconsin cold case came in 2011 as part of an investigation into two fatal stabbings that occurred in Wisconsin in 1992.

Wisconsin court records show Gouker pleaded guilty last month to one count of first-degree sexual assault with a dangerous weapon. He could face up to 20 years in prison.

For his case in Pottawatomie County, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty as Gouker faces nine different felony counts in connection with Walton’s death.

Gouker is accused of killing Walton and further accused of luring Walton’s girlfriend into an outbuilding and holding her against her will before prosecutors allege he forcibly raped her for hours before she could escape. The alleged incidents occurred at Gouker’s home in rural Prague on Sept. 8, 2010.